After twenty years in technology, he now makes small collectible figures of pop culture characters
After spending two decades climbing the corporate ladder, including working for a FAANG company, the 40-year-old Singaporean GT has found himself on a very different path.
The former tech worker has turned a hobby into a small business, making tiny handmade action figures inspired by pop stars, from the Glico man to even local TV icon Phua Chu Kang.
Today, GT is active Bird Hand Toys from his home in Australia, where he assembles and assembles 3.75-inch “bootleg” figurines based on movies, TV shows, and nonsensical cultural references.
A hobby that found him
GT’s approach to making toys was not intentional.
Born and raised in Singapore and educated in Australia, he spent 15 to 17 years moving through corporate roles before landing at a major global technology company. By then, he and his wife had already built a good life in Singapore: stable jobs, a home, a dog, and a strong network of family and friends.
But GT also held permanent residency in Australia, a document he had kept for years. Finally, the opportunity to relocate and build a life in Australia was too hard to pass up.
So in 2021, with the COVID-19 pandemic in full swing, GT and his wife quit their jobs, sold the car, and packed up to leave. The airports were quiet, with less than 10 people on their flight. Not exactly a good start, but still, it was the beginning of a new chapter in their lives.
Once settled in Australia, GT returned to corporate work and began looking for a creative outlet to escape the pressures of office life.
One day, while scrolling through Instagram, he came across a community of toy makers who create miniature action figures. Intrigued, he decided to try to do it in 2022.
GT was able to teach himself through trial and error and picked up the hobby very quickly.
“There’s very little information out there, so a lot of the early process involved a lot of troubleshooting to figure out every step of the process, from the size of the supported card, the types of glue and paper to use, the supplier of the plastic panels and how to make a bootleg toy.”
In those early days, GT’s work appeared mostly in the movies, TV shows, and pop culture that grew up with it in the 20th century. The first few calculations he made were enough to suggest that he might be on to something.
The project took a big turn when he won an eBay bid for more than 100 vintage Star Wars figures for $180 (S$230), which he used as the base models for his creations.
The making of a bootleg action figure
Bird Hand Toys occupies a creative niche in what GT calls the “bootleg toy space”—illegal action figures of movie and TV characters that never made it to the commercial production stage.
One of the first pieces he made was a miniature version of the American artist Jackson Pollock, complete with a small paintbrush, paint splatters, a checked scarf and a cigarette. It took about a month to complete the action figure.
In the early days, GT’s process was relatively simple: he would take out an existing action figure and carve over it to turn it into an entirely new character.
However, he quickly realized that this approach was accompanied by limitations.
First, there is a limited number of action figures he can get. Secondly, this method was not economical as the price of each base can cost anywhere from S$30 to S$50. As such, it has been difficult to measure or fill many orders.
In one instance, a chef in the US gave 15 people a job. GT recalled that it had to search multiple stores in New South Wales just to secure enough basic figures to complete the order.
Although he still uses his original method from time to time, GT has moved into designing and 3D printing his basic figures.
He said this change removed many of the previous issues and significantly reduced costs, allowing him to produce more figures efficiently. It also gave him a lot of creative freedom, allowing for detailed sculpting and refinement around each base model, which in turn improved the overall quality of his work.
For each action figure, completion can take anywhere from a day to two weeks, depending on its complexity.
While the materials to create them may seem simple—basic tools like a base model, a Dremel, sculpting putty and paint—the process is far from mechanical.
GT treats each piece as a work of design, requiring not only handwork but an eye for design. Each design should reflect the character’s cultural context while still serving as a cohesive visual piece that can sit on a wall or shelf.
All of his figures are 3.75 inches tall. Although it may seem like a random choice, the size was popular with classic Star Wars action figures, and in GT, and it came down for practical reasons.
“I think they’re this size because of the eBay lot, which got me started on this scale, and everything else, like the blister packaging and card backing, was optimized for this scale, so I continued with it,” says GT.
“Also, I find this size to be very attractive as it has GI Joe and Star Wars nonsense.”
Gaining traction and recognition
Each GT statue starts at S$70, although the most expensive piece he ever sold went for US$200 (S$255). A Singaporean buyer also recently dropped about S$700 on his figurines.
Initially, GT focused on international characters. It was only this year that he launched a Singapore/Asia-focused page because he thought “it would be interesting to re-imagine old 90s Singaporean TV characters and eras into action figures.”
Through this process, he discovered that many of the old logos and images of Singaporean pop figures were low resolution as they were from “back in the day.”
“I thought it makes sense to give them the love they deserve to have a new, sharp sign and images so they don’t disappear over time,” he said.
“Also, people find this very uninteresting, and formatting it as a little piece that they can have is something that really works.”
According to the 40-year-old, the first month of the Asian page has gone very quickly.
He revealed that he has been receiving many positive responses and encouragement for what he is doing, including from singer and songwriter Inch Chua, who he idolized.
Besides Chua, his celebrity-inspired people have found their way to British DJ Fatboy Slim and Singaporean actor Gurmit Singh. GT has also taken on commissioned work, including a custom piece for DJ Tim Oh, complete with small accessories based on his personal tastes.
Part of this pull also came from retail exposure. Since Mar, his designs have been stocked in a Singapore fashion store Corner Store (杂货店)a collaboration that went viral on the Internet.
Outside of retail, most GT sales still come online. Through direct commissions and orders, his handmade illustrations have reached homes in the US, Japan, and Thailand.
Focusing on Bird Hand toys full time
All this time, Bird Hand Toys has been busy with GT. But after being “recently laid off” from a FAANG company he worked for in Australia, he decided to pursue his passion full time.
“This is the first time I have had the opportunity to fully pursue a creative path, and it is an opportunity to use my time to do a craft that I love,” he explained.
The challenge, of course, as it has been from the beginning, is to run the business as a one-man show, from responding to customer messages on Instagram to creating new content and fulfilling commission orders.
Looking ahead, GT wants to continue to hone its craft and become even better at it. He has one goal that is equal parts humble and quietly ambitious.
It would be nice to be on vacation and find my stuff on the store shelf every now and then.
- Read more about Bird Hand Toys here.
- Read other articles we’ve written about Singapore businesses here.
Featured Image Credit: Bird Hand Toys
